Here's a summary of the play:
1. Setting the Stage:
- The play is performed before the royal court of Theseus, Duke of Athens.
- Bottom, the weaver, plays Pyramus, while Flute, the bellows-mender, portrays Thisbe.
2. The Love Story Begins:
- Pyramus and Thisbe, from neighboring families in Babylon, fall deeply in love but are forbidden to meet by their parents due to a long-standing feud.
- They communicate their feelings by whispering through a crack in a wall that separates their homes.
3. Planning to Reunite:
- Pyramus suggests that they escape together and meet under a mulberry tree outside the city walls.
- Thisbe agrees and plans to wear a white cloak so Pyramus can easily recognize her.
4. Miscommunication and Tragedy:
- Thisbe arrives at the designated meeting spot before Pyramus and encounters a lioness with blood on its mouth. Fleeing in fear, she drops her white cloak.
- Pyramus arrives, sees the bloodstained cloak, and wrongly assumes that Thisbe has been killed. Overcome with grief, he stabs himself with his sword.
5. Discovering the Truth:
- Moments later, Thisbe returns and finds Pyramus dying on the ground. Horrified, she realizes the tragic misunderstanding that led to his death.
- Filled with despair, Thisbe kisses the sword used by Pyramus and ends her own life.
6. The Mulberry Tree Transformed:
- The blood of the lovers seeps into the mulberry tree, turning its fruit from white to purple forever.
"The Most Lamentable Comedy and Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe" concludes with the royal audience reacting to the play, offering humorous commentary on the amateurish nature of the performance and the tragic plot.
This play-within-a-play serves as a comedic parody of romantic tragedies and highlights the follies of love and the absurdity of human emotions.